Scuba Diving

SCUBA - "Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus", developed by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Emile Gagnan in the 1950's. Greg began snorkeling soon after arriving to San Diego, California from the East Coast of the USA in the mid-‘70s. After taking a marine ecology course taught at Scripps Aquarium by Dr. Bill Gookin (developer of Gookinaid, the worlds first sports drink), he spent most of his free time in the underwater marine park adjacent to the La Jolla Cove. He saved up his money, enrolled in a class, bought equipment and was certified at San Diego Divers Supply in the late 70’s. Just a day after his high school graduation, he waved goodbye to his parents, hopped on a ferry and spent his first of several summers working at the Catalina Island Marine Institute at Toyon Bay.

PROFESSIONAL LICENCES/CERTIFICATIONS

July 1995 Cold-Water (Dry-Suit) Certification, Juneau, Alaska May 1995 Professional Association of Scuba Divers, PADI Divemaster June 1977 National Association of Scuba Diving Schools (NASDS), San Diego, CA

DIVING EXPERIENCE

2009-’10 Diving with my new dive “buddy” that just got certified as an “advanced” diver along the California coast, including wreck diving in San Diego and diving with motorcycle-sized giant sea bass off of Catalina Island 2008 Worked as Divemaster leading certified divers on expeditions to: Fiji, Vanuatu, Federated States of Micronesia, the Solomon Islands of Melanesia, Papua New Guinea, Guam and Palau. Also did my own diving trips to: Great Barrier Reef off of the Queensland coast near Cairns, Australia; decompression diving on 20 sunken WWII Japanese cargo ships, planes and submarine in Truk Lagoon; diving and sea kayaking in Palau and to the Somosomo Straits near Taveuni Island, Fiji before surviving a hurricane… 2007 Dive trips to numerous islands in the largest and most densely populated archipelago in the world: Indonesia. Diving in Bali Barat National Park and Komodo National Park, along with wild free diving in Krakatau and Ujung Galong National Park, another World Heritage Site off of the Sunda shelf on Southwestern Java. November 2006 Trip to Colombia, South America as a NOAA National Ocean Service trainer for MPA managers in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape project. Diving all around Isla Gorgona, listening to the Humpback Whales breeding songs. Dive trip to Western Panama (near Costa Rican border) around Bocas del Toro 2005-‘06 Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF). Conducted invertebrate/fish surveys in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, 12+ dives at Neah Bay, Cape Flattery, Protection Island, Skagway Rocks, Mushroom Rock, etc July 2006 Channel Islands (Catalina Island) dive; 100’s of dives in the 1980’s while working as the Marine Interpretive Center Supervisor (Catalina Island Marine Institute) May 2005 Diving as a NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) “Observer Diver” with Greg McFall (Research Coordinator) in the Grays Reef NMS (National Marine Sanctuary) off the Georgia coast during the NMS Education Coordinators Annual Conference February ‘05 Dive with my 15-year old nephew at Point Lobos State Reserve within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS). Dozens of dives in the yet-to-be MBNMS during the 1980’s and ‘90’s, many while working as the Interpretive Specialist for the Big Sur District of the California State Park System. February 2004 Planned a week-long dive trip to Egypt to Ras Mohamed National Park, “Sinai Divers”, Ghazala Hotel, Na’ama Bay in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt (Sinai Peninsula, Indian Ocean) 2004—2005 Numerous dives in Belize, including atoll dives at Half Moon Caye, a World Heritage Site and Belizean National Monument Late ‘90’s Divemaster and Marine Biology Lecturer aboard the 120 passenger vessel M/V World Explorer between Hawai’i and Easter Island (Chile) through the Line, Cook, Society, Tuomotu, Gambier, Marquesa and Pitcairn Archipelagos, some 6000 nautical miles of open ocean, atoll, patch, and fringing reefs in South Pacific Islands. Organized daily dives and snorkel expeditions for tourists using Zodiacs. Compiled detailed notes for logbooks, identified fish and coral species for daily postings, gave daily “recaps” during cocktail hour, and gave presentations in lecture hall/circuit television. 1997-’98 Diving with hammerhead sharks off the seamount “El Bajo” in the Gulf of California; underwater forays with California sea lions at “Los Islotes” near La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico 1996 Drain my bank account (again) for an 11-day cruise to Ecuador’s’ Parque Nacional Galapagos, in the Galapagos Islands. Numerous dives with sharks and sea lions. Greg did several dives on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal in Portobello National Park Mid 1990’s Take PADI Rescue Diver and earn my Divemaster Certification with dozens of dives in the Caribbean (Greater/Lesser Antilles), including the Bahamas, Cozumel, Mexico, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, U.S. Virgin Islands, etc. Take a cold-water diving course in Juneau, Alaska and dive in a National Wildlife Refuge near Baranof Island, Ketchikan, Icy Strait, and Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve 1991-‘92 numerous dives in Key Biscayne National Park and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary; dive trips to Central Florida to see the manatees, Crystal Springs, the Blue Grotto, Ginnie Springs and down the Santa Fe River 1992-3 Dives in Kona on the Big Island of Hawai’i to see manta rays, turtles and dolphins in what is now the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Late 1970’s through the 1980’s Throughout the Southern California bite, central California off of Monterey Peninsula and Big Sur coastline, and sites off of Trinidad in Humboldt County; trips to Florida’s John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park off of Key LargoSpread the Adventure!